Upcoming events
To add a conference, workshop or training school, please send an e-mail to
eana-web (at) eana-net.eu.
- Big Bang… Microbes! – Workshop on Cultivation of the Uncultivationables!
2023-09-28 to 2023-09-29, :envihab research facility at DLR, Cologne (Germany)
The Special Group Space Microbiology invites you to a VAAM-DGHM interdisciplinary event. The
focus of the event 'Big Bang... Microbes! - Workshop on Cultivation of the Uncultivables!' will focus on the cultivation of microorganisms. With this meeting we want to actively promote the review, exchange, outlook and discussion of microbial cultivation.
The focus of the event will be on the cultivation of microorganisms, isolation and characterization of (new) strains/strain communities and their application or utility in a wide range of fields such as basic research, biotechnology, food & chemical industry, agriculture and space. Besides the scientific exchange around the topic of cultivation, there will be an insight into the work of the different groups at DLR, ESA and NASA. A visit to the European Astronaut Center is also planned.
- 74rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2023)
2023-10-02 to 2023-10-06, Baku, Azerbaijan
The 74rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2023) will take place from October 2 to 6 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
In this conference all areas of space research from space life sciences to space exploration are addressed with several interesting opportunities for students and young scientists.
The IAA/IAF space life sciences symposium A1 of the IAC 2023 encompasses sessions with oral and interactive presentations with different topics.
Astrobiology in general and the scientific and technical aspects of astrobiological research in space and on Earth will be discussed during this conference in different sessions and different symposia. We would like to draw your attention especially to session A1.6. Astrobiology and Exploration.
- OLDM'23, Origins of life Donastia Meeting
2023-10-02 to 2023-10-04, Spain
It is our great pleasure to present the Origins of Life Donostia Meeting 2023, to be held in Donostia-San Sebastian (Palacio Miramar), Basque Country (Spain), on the 2nd-4th of October 2023, in an in-person format. The motivation for organizing this event is to provide an opportunity for all of us, researchers interested in the problem of how biological complexity could emerge from physics and chemistry, to get together in a beautiful location, in a friendly environment where we can share and discuss recent ideas/results on this fascinating topic -- after a few strange years when this has been difficult to do.
The meeting will be the final event of a European Marie Curie ITN Project centred on the physical and chemical roots of metabolism (https://protomet-etn.eu/), but we wanted to open it to the whole origin-of-life community. Therefore, although the programme will cover a significant number of contributions related to 'proto-metabolic systems', a wider range of subjects, within the field, will be certainly welcome. This includes scientific inputs, of course, both experimental and theoretical, but also more conceptual/philosophical reflections on open questions that remain a challenge of more general concern for the community.
Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo, on behalf of OLDM'2023 Organizing Committee
- Summer School: Volcanism, Plate Tectonics, Hydrothermal Vents and Life
2023-10-10 to 2023-10-22, Angra do Heroismo, Acores (Portugal)
The course aims to give participants a thorough introduction into influence of volcanism, plate tectonics on life and the role of hydrothermal vents in the upcome of life. It is co-organised by the European Astrobiology Institute and the University of the Azores. Lurdes Dapcevicius (University of the Azores), Joana Barcelo Ramos Wolf Geppert (Stockholm University) will function as course organisers. The summer school will include:
- Lectures by leading scientists in the field covering a cornucopia of different subjects
- Field excursions to geologically interesting sights (volcanic areas, hot springs, lava caves, etc.)
- Exploration of lava caves
- Characterisation of microbes in lava caves and hot springs via Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
- Poster sessions
- Participant-led discussions
Application to the summer school is open for students and scientists (including post-docs) from all countries. Participants will be selected by the course organisers.
- ESA Brainstorming on Astrobiology
2023-10-16 to 2023-10-20, ESTEC (Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands)
An open, focused, and multidisciplinary European Space Agency (ESA) workshop on astrobiology, featuring expert discussion as well as public talks.
Fostering collaboration, connecting ESA with the Zeitgeist of the rapidly growing astrobiology community, brainstorming outside-of-the-box ideas for interdisciplinary science and future missions, and disseminating our findings via public lectures and a publication. Our vision is to form a diverse group in terms of research expertise, gender, seniority, background, institute country, and professional functionality.
Importantly, there is some commitment requested before and after the event; ca. 15 applicants from the community will be selected; travel grants for all participants will be provided (up to 1000 Euro; exceptions may be discussed upon request).
- Workshop: Life in the Sub-Surface: Habitats, Species, Metabolism and Survival Strategies
2023-10-25 to 2023-10-27, Angra do Heroismo, Acores (Portugal)
The workshop organised by the European Astrobiology Institute (EAI) will cover the following subjects:
- Characteristics of (potential) sub-surface habitats on Earth and beyond
- Early evolution of subsurface life including its possible role in emergence of life
- Diversity, metabolism and survival strategies of subsurface life on Earth
- Possibility of extraterrestrial sub-surface life and its detection
- Gaps in the knowledge about subsurface life
- Subsurface environments and extremophiles on the Azores
- Small bodies of the Solar System and their link with extraterrestrial samples
2024-02-04 to 2024-02-09, Les Houches, France
This Winter School aims to better understand the bridge between solar system small bodies and extraterrestrial samples. Lectures will focus on solar system and small bodies formation and evolution, cosmochemistry, timescales, sample return analysis, and perspectives for this research field. Lectures and discussions will be held in English.
- Kavli-IAU Symposium (IAUS 387):
Kavli-IAU Symposium (IAUS 387): (Toward) Discovery of Life Beyond Earth and its Impact
2024-04-15 to 2024-04-19, Durham, UK
From our origins, humans have been inspired by pinpoints of light in the night sky. They cause us to wonder about our existence. Who are we? What are we doing here? Where did we come from? And, where are we going? The physicist Enrico Fermi famously asked “Where is everybody?” Thinking life must arise with some regularity, he marveled that we saw no evidence of it among the stars – the Fermi Paradox. Despite impressive investment and activity in space exploration over the years, the question remains unanswered.
Until 1995, the only known planets orbited our Sun. Now we have evidence for over 5,000 exoplanets orbiting other stars, and we expect to find hundreds of billions more, at least one for every pinpoint of light. In the 1960s, Frank Drake began a search for radio signals, capable of crossing the interstellar distances. Advances in astronomy and computing have expanded that search, resulting in a much wider survey of the sky and allowing citizens to participate in SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The space age also brought opportunities to explore our own Solar System with more powerful telescopes and sophisticated space probes. Planetary atmospheres can now be interrogated, near and far, for the signs of life. A new era of exploration has begun, rich in data derived from these new technologies. We can search the universe, looking for life and, in the process, learning more about our ourselves, our planet, our species, and perhaps our significance.
This decade sees a once-in-a-lifetime investment of both capital and labour into the ‘Search for Life Beyond Earth.’ Research communities, governments and philanthropists alike are set to explore. NASA’s Apollo program showed that sufficient commitment of resources can lead to breakthroughs. Their progress, culminating in the Moon landing, inspired many to become astronomers. Both NASA and ESA have active and planned missions focused on the detection and characterisation of exoplanets. Most large observatories have invested in planetary astronomy and “Big Data” approaches, including the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at the Vera C. Rubin observatory and the radio Square Kilometer Array (SKA). Meanwhile, new Machine Learning (ML) algorithms will make the search for technosignatures feasible at scale.
We still do not know if there is life beyond Earth or how probable it may be. But if it exists, we might find it (or it us) as early as tomorrow. And, there or not, found or not, the search itself has a profound impact on humanity. What would it mean for our civilisation, if we do find something? Will it improve our lives or threaten our very existence? Beyond science, the ‘Search for Life Beyond Earth’ raises complex questions of policy, law, philosophy, and theology. It challenges us to think critically about life as a category and as a thing of value.
We are not prepared for a discovery. We need to bring together diverse expertise to plan how we will assess evidence and communicate what we know (and don’t know) with the public. We should plan early, setting out impact assessments, protocols, procedures and treaties that allow us to act responsibly as individuals and communities and as a species. Any outcome will have to be presented to ‘Planet Earth.’ So great a task will challenge established scientific hierarchies and media and bring about new ways of public engagement.
In-person registration: 2024-03-15
Virtual registration: 2024-03-31
Travel grants: 2023-11-01
- Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology (SSoCIA)
2024-06-03 to 2024-06-05, Rovaniemi, Finland
The Society for Social and Conceptual Issues in Astrobiology (SSoCIA) will hold its fifth biennial meeting June 3-5, 2024 in Rovaniemi, Finland. SSoCIA is an international and highly interdisciplinary group of scholars and other experts dedicated to investigation of the many social, cultural, and conceptual issues surrounding humanity’s future in space. For our 2024 meeting, we welcome submissions addressing any of the many “broader questions” in astrobiology and space exploration.
Previous presentations have included:
• Should there be private property in space?
• Is human colonization of other worlds morally permissible?
• Should we attempt to contact extraterrestrial intelligence (METI)?
• What does “pollution” mean in the context of a lifeless world?
• What is “life”?
• What moral obligations might we have towards extraterrestrials?
• How can we overcome problems inherent in interspecies communication?
• What would be the religious significance of a “second genesis”?
• How should off world colonies be governed?
• Is the prime directive an appropriate ethical principle to use for first contact?
• How do our attitudes towards space reflect unexamined cultural tropes?
• How can we use astrobiology to further science education?
This year, we are very fortunate to have an excellent keynote speaker in Dr. Tony Milligan.
Abstract submission: 2024-01-31
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